Chicken Fried Waffles: when enough isn't supposed to be enough

When in Charleston, do as the southerners do? That, at least, was what I told myself when I had fried chicken and waffles not once, but twice during a weekend trip to Charleston a few days ago. But both times I set out on this gastronomic adventure, I couldn't stop thinking of last Wednesday's lecture on the concept of satiety.

Last Wednesday we discussed how many of us view eating experiences as an event where we are trying to achieve "fullness", and why this viewpoint is a break from traditional philosophical thought towards how much a person should eat. In the texts Professor Crane described, a person was commonly instructed to leave a third or a fourth of "space" available in their body when eating, so that the eater would not be split open if they were to becoming strongly emotional. While we can now view the last part of this advice with a bit of a laugh, it is physiologically true that eating to less than our capacity is a better decision in regards to the amount and long-term effects of acids and hormones that are released in our bodies after meals.

Which, of course, is why I paused halfway through my serving of crispy chicken and thick waffles, both smothered in maple syrup.. and then proceeded to finish the entire plate. I knew that I was past the point of satiety, I knew that what I was doing was a poor decision for my health, and I wasn't even eating with the goal of becoming full to the point of bursting. Rather, it was purely a decision based on the environment I was in, the experience I was having, and the memory I was consciously trying to cultivate. It was the first time myself and the person I was with had been to Charleston, neither of us had ever had chicken fried waffles, and we were trying to have a special and memorable weekend. Somehow, in the moment, stopping partway through the meal and stating that we felt comfortably satisfied would seemed contrary to these factors. Perhaps our discussion missed a component: the societal and cultural role "fullness" can have in forming bonds with others, and how we can navigate such situations in a way that the exuberance of the eating experience is preserved without pushing ourselves past a point of satiety.